The present invention relates to a floor structure of a vehicle body, and, more specifically, relates to a floor structure of a vehicle body in which an end portion of a cross member extending on a floor portion in the width direction of the vehicle body is connected to a base portion of a center pillar.
Japanese Utility Model Registration Application Laid-Open No. H5-28790 has disclosed a floor structure of a vehicle body in which an attaching flange provided vertically at an end portion of a cross member extending in the width direction of the vehicle body is joined to a vertical face of a side sill located at a base portion of a center pillar in the center portion with respect to the forward/backward direction of the vehicle body.
However, in such a floor structure of the vehicle in which the attaching flange of the cross member is joined to the vertical face of the side sill located at the base portion of the center pillar, when an external force like an impact force is applied to the center portion of the vehicle body at the time of a collision or the like on the side thereof, each panel member constituting the base portion of the center pillar is likely to be deformed.
As a countermeasure, it is possible to just increase the thickness of each panel member constituting the base portion of the center pillar, additionally provide a portion on which a stress is concentrated with a stiffener member, increase the sectional area of a box structure of the base portion or the like. However, these measures lead to increased weight and cost, enlargement of occupied area, increased difficulty in welding work in mass production or the like and therefore they are not desirable.
That is, a proposal of a structure based on a novel design concept, that is capable of, when an external force is applied sideways to the base portion of the center pillar, namely when a collision energy is applied sideways, absorbing the external force without increases of weight and cost, which is compact and which is suitable for mass production, has been much demanded.